Juneberry: a Small Garden Tree with a Big Effect

Virtues: The juneberry tree’s small size, early spring flowering, early summer fruit and good fall foliage make it a great choice for the garden. This North American native tree is easy to grow and it benefits wildlife.

Common name: Juneberry, shadbush, serviceberry

Botanical name: Amelanchier lamarckii

Exposure: Full sun to part shade

Season: Spring for flowers, summer for fruits, fall for foliage

Flowers: Clusters of five-petaled white flowers line the branches in early spring, opening just before the leaves appear. These flowers feed early bees.

Fruit: Small berries ripen in early summer. These purple-black berries can be used in jams, jellies and desserts. Birds also enjoy them.

Foliage: This is a deciduous tree. The leaves emerge purplish in spring before turning green for the summer. The fall foliage is a good reddish orange.

Habit: Juneberry forms a small, usually multi-trunked tree between 15 and 25 feet tall with a similar spread.

Origins:Amelanchier lamarckii is a plant native to eastern North America. Some botanists believe it to be a naturally occuring hybrid between two other North American serviceberries: either A. canadensis and A. laevis, or A. arboreta and A. laevis (also the parents of A. grandiflora).

How to grow Juneberry: Plant it in full sun or partial shade, in average soil with good drainage. This tree prefers even soil moisture and may require watering in times of drought.